by Jen Mallia
Last updated: 2:50 PM ET, Tue July 15, 2025
Emails obtained by Reuters under a freedom of information request show how the Canadian government struggled to advise the public about cross-border travel in light of Trump’s decree that only two genders would be recognized by the U.S. government.
According to the report, emails within the government and Global Affairs express concern over the potential difficulties trans, non-binary and people with an X marker on their passport may face if travelling to the U.S.
Officials also discussed a new U.S. policy that requires anyone applying for a visa to list their gender assigned at birth on their applications, even if it differs from what is presently listed on their passport. Implications for Canadian permanent residents and for delegates travelling to the U.S. for meetings were also discussed.
An email from the end of January, 2025 asks “What is the plan to reassure Canadians & address their concerns regarding travel to the US?”
Reuters states that the discussion shows the struggle Canadian officials felt they faced, calling it “a tightrope walk between protecting its citizens, addressing their concerns and avoiding offending a close ally with whom it has had a strained trading relationship.”
Although several countries, including Ireland, the Netherlands and Germany, did update their travel advisories to note that trans and non-binary people may face additional scrutiny at the border entering the U.S., Canada did not. The emails revealed that wording was drafted to advise Canadians about the anti-trans changes to legislation in America, but our government did not publish it. They did, however, update the advisory to include updated information about a new registration requirement for snowbirds.
In the spring, during Pride month, Global Affairs issued a press release for 2SLGBTQI+ travellers, but didn’t name any countries to avoid or be aware of, opting for general “some countries” language.
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